"Bold Bets" Pay Off As Profits Soar: Microsoft

The software giant revenue rose 18% to $20.49 billion for the quarter ended March 31 - up $3bn from same time 2012.

The latest lift in profits, revenue was due to the giant deferring some of its revenue following the launch of the new Windows 8 OS, which analysts last week blamed for flagging PC sales, saying the touch and tile based OS has, to date, failed to win over the consumer.

"The bold bets we made on cloud services are paying off as people increasingly choose Microsoft services including Office 365, Windows Azure, Xbox LIVE, and Skype," declared Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft.

"While there is still work to do, we are optimistic that the bets we've made on Windows devices position us well for the long-term."

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division surged 56% (33% non-GAAP) which includes Xbox, Kinect also up, with Xbox membership swelling to 46m members worldwide - up almost 20%.